Page 18 - Wilkes County NCG Flipbook

All Family
in the

by Andrew Smith

Multi-Generational Farms Thriving in Wilkes County
F arming plays an important role in chicken houses and expanding the tobacco- Perry Lowe Orchards off North Carolina 16.

While the orchard is still situated on
today’s society, not just growing
growing operation.
the original 130 acres Ty’s grandfather,
the food and livestock that fuels
our country, but strengthening
it would appear much different to his
our communities, industry and As demand for tobacco dwindled in the early Perry Lowe, Sr. developed in the 1950s,
2010s, Chad and his wife Brenda turned
bolstering the economy. You may be a potential problem into an opportunity, namesake today.
surprised to know 96 percent of the nation’s converting their existing tobacco greenhouses
2.2 million farms are considered “family into greenhouses for vegetables and flowers Among the many changes over the decades,
farms” by the United States Department in 2015. Ty and Katrina say high density planting
of Agriculture. This fact may also trigger techniques have allowed them to increase the
number of trees from 10,000 to 40,000, while
a follow-up question, ‘who wants to farm “As a commodity, for us the income was advancements in plant genetics have pushed
these days?’ not there,” Chad said of his former tobacco the number of apple varieties from four to
operation. “We made money, but it was not more than 30. The orchard now produces an
Well, in Wilkes County, there are more than enough to justify the acreage.” astounding 40,000-50,000 bushels (4-5 million
a few family farms that have found the way apples) per year.
to not only pass on the legacy of working the Today, the Blakes farm 800 acres across
land, but also adapt to – and overcome – a multiple plots, cultivating 650 acres of corn While the Lowes have successfully sold
host of modern variables that impact the for animal and wildlife feed, growing and apples and associated products from their
viability of farming. selling more than 3,500 hanging basket orchard store for decades, they, like the
Blakes, have continued to diversify their
products and experiences. Their cider
Now, we can gauge the interest pasteurization operation dates to 1996, but
in the farm through Facebook, in recent years they’ve started to sell single
the reviews and likes we variety ciders – like Pink Lady and Honey
Crisp – alongside their traditional apple
get help us determine how cider, which is a blend of varieties.
many flowers we plant. We’re In 2019, the family opened its orchard to
planning on planting 1,000 become a “U-Pick” site where individuals,
more baskets and adding groups and families can traverse the land
greenhouses in 2021 because and select their own apples right from the
trees. With many indoor activities on hold
of demand. in 2020, Katrina said the decision to add
public apple picking could not have come at
Brenda Blake a better time.
Blake Farms
“People wanted to get outside where they
felt safe with their families,” Katrina says,
while also mentioning the orchard’s regular
Many locals know Blake Farms as the best plants annually and supplying Tyson Foods presence at the Raleigh farmers market
spot in Wilkes County to get fresh flowers with 3 million broiler chickens each year. The as a boon for their business and local
and hanging baskets. Each year, the farm’s farm buzzes with customers most weekends, tourism. “Some people want to travel to
events, group tours and roadside sales especially when seasonal demand spikes. the mountains and see where their apples
attract thousands of tourists from all over the Hanging baskets are popular in the spring actually came from.”
Yadkin Valley and beyond to the main farm while mums and pansies fuel the fall surge.
site on Hunting Creek Road in Somers. Mathis Farms has been producing row crops
A few miles away, the Lowe clan has set and broiler chickens since its inception in the
This proud agritourism mainstay started a standard for family farming in Wilkes mid-1950s. According to fourth-generation
as a tobacco and chicken farm. In 1978, the County. More than six generations have been farmer Luke Mathis, technology and
original plot, consisting of mostly kudzu involved in apple orchards, with the last automation have been the main driver in the
and small pines, was purchased by Gary three generations using the same plot of land farm’s ability to cultivate more than 4,000
Blake and developed quickly. Gary’s son in Moravian Falls. acres of crops, like silage and shell corn, and
Chad returned to work on the farm after deliver more than 1.1 million broiler chickens
graduating from college in the mid-1980s Perry Lowe III, who goes by Ty, his wife each year, while maintaining a full-time staff
and helped grow the business, adding more Katrina, and their four children operate of 15.

14 Wilkes Chamber of Commerce